Chasing Portals
by Lilies-of-the-Mockingbirds
Summary: A mirage is an illusion. Something that one thinks is there, but is not. It's an untruth. A lie. A logical fallacy. Serenity is the state of being calm, at peace, or untroubled. A mirage may give serenity for a short time, but it never lasts. All too soon the reality of the surrounding desert closes in, and you die.
1. Chapter 1

A mirage is an illusion. Something that one thinks is there, but is not. It's an untruth. A lie. A logical fallacy. Perhaps that is stretching the definition too far. Serenity is the state of being calm, at peace, or untroubled.

My first memories outside of the base mostly involve a dusty road, sweaty palms, and a broken, never able to be healed, foot. My first memories of the outside world consist mostly of blonde hair and a baby's cries, gnawing hunger, and finally, liberating freedom.

I vowed on that day that I would never use my ability for something I didn't want to, or something I didn't believe in.

Little did I know how greatly that promise would be tested later in my life.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own any part of the Avengers, all rights and claims should be reserved to their respective owners, and this is merely a fan-made work of fiction.

I chose my name for a reason. My younger sister, however, did not. Micah chose her name because she thought it sounded "pretty." She doesn't remember that, now. Of course, she was two, and I was six, so it does make sense. I'm simply grateful that she does not regret choosing that name.

My youngest sister, Lana, is named for her mother, the woman who entrusted her into my care. The woman who died protecting her daughter.

It was from the elder Lana that my Lana got her abilities.

I do not know where my abilities came from. I have no interest in discovering where they're from, except in that I was determined to discover the manner in which this curse would be passed down. It is a genetic-linked trait, scattered across the chromosomes and DNA.

God, I hate my ability.

Space manipulation. It made me a prime subject for the operators of that accursed base in Germany to use as an assassin.

I realize now how stupid it would have been of me to remain there, and I am grateful, for my sisters' sakes, that I thought to leave that place.

Report: Patient 36, "Serena Thoms"  
Residing Doctor: Henry O'Connell  
Date: Blotted out  
26 muscles.  
16 muscle groups.  
50 nerves  
70 bones

Those are all the structures which exist in human legs. All of mine are either crushed, missing, or contorted. There are no procedures able to reverse this damage, and there never will be. I stated no family, and claimed that my injury was through a car accident. I was discharged in a wheelchair, and my body would never walk again.

As with all things, the human body is composed of chemicals, or matter. I cannot create living material, except from my own cells in my pocket dimension.

My ability has rules. If I make a mistake, it crushes a part of one of my limbs. If I create a space properly, I cannot create anything living, unless is is from my own cells, or I will lose part of a limb.

My ability has killed all of its previous users.

If there is one thing that I am determined to do, it is to ensure that no one will ever have this curse.

It will die with me.

My name is Serenity.


	3. Chapter 3

I began working as a mercenary, mostly as a thief. Breaking into vaults is easy when you can move through the walls by using a different world. I used my abilities for my sisters, and my sisters alone. I built them a house in my realm, earned enough money to send them to school, and took up the alias 'Mirage' for my mercenary work. As a mercenary, I made it a point to work alone, or with only one partner. This action saved me from great amounts of trouble in the future. However, there was one mercenary that I generally enjoyed working with. His alias was Locksmith. He was, most notably, sane, personable, and reasonable. All of these together are rarely found in my field.

My consciousness is a capricious thing. It never stays where I would like it to when I sleep. I'm quite surrounded by amusing things, I suppose, but I never have been much for humor. My sisters tell me I'm too serious. Perhaps. It keeps my mind clear. A clear mind makes for clear thinking, clear thinking makes good plans, and good plans make for survival. Survival means I get to come home and protect my sisters when they need me.

They've needed me a lot.

They're the (only) ones who need me.


	4. Chapter 4

As I would one day discover, my sisters were not the only people who would ever need me.

In the future, my sisters' world would need me. In the future, a group of my closest friends would need me. I wasn't truly prepared at the time. Looking back, I think of many things I wish I had done in the moment, but I find truth in the saying "Hindsight is always 20/20."

Even now, I have regrets.

In the future. That has been my entire life. As I closed my eyes each night, my brain kept awake.

It's no wonder I became tired.

When do I stop? When do I give up? When have I made the world a "Better place?" I hate the phrase, but it is the only phrase I can think of to describe my goal. It's one, very, very, very simple goal, with a broad definition that made it nearly impossible to fulfill.

Even now, I wonder if I did fulfill it.


End file.
